Pope Leo XIV discharged from hospital following lung surgery
Pope Leo XIV will be discharged from the hospital on Saturday after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous nodule from his right lung, the Vatican said, and will make an appearance to lead prayer on Sunday, reports BritPanorama.
“Following the conclusions reached by the medical team this morning, Pope Leo XIV will be discharged today from Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital, where he was admitted for surgery on his right lung,” the Holy See Press said Saturday in a statement.
“He will leave the hospital in the early afternoon and return to the Vatican,” it added. He is expected to recite the Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment at St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, according to the statement.
The pontiff’s personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli Hospital, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, confirmed that after assessments of blood tests and a chest X-ray conducted Saturday morning, “the Holy Father has been deemed fit for discharge from the hospital.”
Thus far, Leo’s doctors have provided no indication that the pontiff may require any further treatment. The Vatican has also not disclosed whether the cancer might have metastasized.
Leo, who is a Chicago native, resumed working from the hospital on Thursday, according to reports from his doctors and the Vatican.
The Vatican on Friday released photos of Leo since his surgery, showing him celebrating Mass inside the hospital, with doctors noting “continued improvement” in his recovery.
The photos depict Leo standing at the altar in green vestments, presiding alone over the liturgy. He also distributed Communion to medical personnel and Vatican gendarmes present and delivered a homily during the service.
His discharge from the hospital comes less than a month before Leo is scheduled to embark on a two-week trip to South America, which is set to begin on November 11.
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, in an interview on Peruvian television, indicated that the pace of the pope’s recovery could influence whether Leo will participate in his weeklong apostolic visit to Peru.
“I want the pope to know that here in Peru, millions of us are praying for his speedy recovery,” Fujimori stated.
Leo was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer, after doctors examined the nodule removed from his right lung. Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for approximately 80% of all lung cancer cases, as noted by the American Lung Association.
This type of cancer affects individuals regardless of smoking history, although Leo is not known to have ever smoked. The initial lump was identified during a routine check, as per the Vatican. This revelation marked the first significant health issue disclosed by the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics during his Sunday noon prayer last week.
As the procedure began, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, Gemelli’s chief thoracic surgeon, led the operation with medical staff reciting the rosary prayer in the hospital chapel.
As he entered the hospital earlier this week, Leo waved to a gathering crowd outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
